Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation

Hickman County had the highest annual precipitation of 120 counties in 2023, at 56.24 inches. Boyd County had the lowest, at 34.5 inches. The median was 43.14 inches and the figure for Kentucky was 44.06 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest56.24Hickman County
Lowest34.5Boyd County
Median43.14120 counties
Kentucky44.06History

Map of counties, 2023

Adair County: 40.61 inchesAllen County: 45.13 inchesAnderson County: 43.22 inchesBallard County: 54.39 inchesBarren County: 45.01 inchesBath County: 40.8 inchesBell County: 46.2 inchesBoone County: 39.73 inchesBourbon County: 42.97 inchesBoyd County: 34.5 inchesBoyle County: 42.62 inchesBracken County: 43.99 inchesBreathitt County: 43.5 inchesBreckinridge County: 50.49 inchesBullitt County: 43.08 inchesButler County: 47.91 inchesCaldwell County: 44.47 inchesCalloway County: 51.14 inchesCampbell County: 38.79 inchesCarlisle County: 55.82 inchesCarroll County: 43.37 inchesCarter County: 36.23 inchesCasey County: 42.72 inchesChristian County: 42.69 inchesClark County: 43 inchesClay County: 45.49 inchesClinton County: 43.96 inchesCrittenden County: 42.62 inchesCumberland County: 41.97 inchesDaviess County: 45.41 inchesEdmonson County: 49.36 inchesElliott County: 36.8 inchesEstill County: 43.87 inchesFayette County: 43 inchesFleming County: 41.67 inchesFloyd County: 39.34 inchesFranklin County: 43.35 inchesFulton County: 54.96 inchesGallatin County: 39.96 inchesGarrard County: 41.59 inchesGrant County: 40.48 inchesGraves County: 54.91 inchesGrayson County: 50.89 inchesGreen County: 39.66 inchesGreenup County: 36.52 inchesHancock County: 48.97 inchesHardin County: 47.02 inchesHarlan County: 45.92 inchesHarrison County: 43.16 inchesHart County: 45.61 inchesHenderson County: 40.06 inchesHenry County: 43.8 inchesHickman County: 56.24 inchesHopkins County: 45.45 inchesJackson County: 44.18 inchesJefferson County: 42.74 inchesJessamine County: 42.15 inchesJohnson County: 38.45 inchesKenton County: 39.06 inchesKnott County: 42.08 inchesKnox County: 44.89 inchesLarue County: 42.22 inchesLaurel County: 43.12 inchesLawrence County: 37.78 inchesLee County: 44.39 inchesLeslie County: 45.65 inchesLetcher County: 39.75 inchesLewis County: 41.06 inchesLincoln County: 42.56 inchesLivingston County: 45.27 inchesLogan County: 48.26 inchesLyon County: 46.21 inchesMcCracken County: 53.58 inchesMcCreary County: 44.8 inchesMcLean County: 45.72 inchesMadison County: 42.27 inchesMagoffin County: 40 inchesMarion County: 41.49 inchesMarshall County: 50.73 inchesMartin County: 42.38 inchesMason County: 44.58 inchesMeade County: 46.74 inchesMenifee County: 41.81 inchesMercer County: 42.69 inchesMetcalfe County: 41.74 inchesMonroe County: 43.27 inchesMontgomery County: 42.54 inchesMorgan County: 38.96 inchesMuhlenberg County: 47.45 inchesNelson County: 42.89 inchesNicholas County: 43.1 inchesOhio County: 48.54 inchesOldham County: 44.55 inchesOwen County: 42.16 inchesOwsley County: 45.01 inchesPendleton County: 41.37 inchesPerry County: 44.14 inchesPike County: 40.48 inchesPowell County: 44.19 inchesPulaski County: 42.65 inchesRobertson County: 44.21 inchesRockcastle County: 42.73 inchesRowan County: 38.45 inchesRussell County: 41.98 inchesScott County: 43.71 inchesShelby County: 43.55 inchesSimpson County: 47.49 inchesSpencer County: 43.01 inchesTaylor County: 40.1 inchesTodd County: 44.78 inchesTrigg County: 46.17 inchesTrimble County: 46.16 inchesUnion County: 39.16 inchesWarren County: 46.52 inchesWashington County: 43.1 inchesWayne County: 43.33 inchesWebster County: 42.8 inchesWhitley County: 44.64 inchesWolfe County: 42.53 inchesWoodford County: 43.13 inches
  • Under 40
  • 40 to 43
  • 43 to 45
  • 45 to 46
  • 46 and over
inches, 2023. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2023

Hickman County: 56.24 inchesHickman County56.24Carlisle County: 55.82 inchesCarlisle County55.82Fulton County: 54.96 inchesFulton County54.96Graves County: 54.91 inchesGraves County54.91Ballard County: 54.39 inchesBallard County54.39McCracken County: 53.58 inchesMcCracken County53.58Calloway County: 51.14 inchesCalloway County51.14Grayson County: 50.89 inchesGrayson County50.89Marshall County: 50.73 inchesMarshall County50.73Breckinridge County: 50.49 inchesBreckinridge County50.49Edmonson County: 49.36 inchesEdmonson County49.36Hancock County: 48.97 inchesHancock County48.97Ohio County: 48.54 inchesOhio County48.54Logan County: 48.26 inchesLogan County48.26Butler County: 47.91 inchesButler County47.91Simpson County: 47.49 inchesSimpson County47.49Muhlenberg County: 47.45 inchesMuhlenberg County47.45Hardin County: 47.02 inchesHardin County47.02Meade County: 46.74 inchesMeade County46.74Warren County: 46.52 inchesWarren County46.52Lyon County: 46.21 inchesLyon County46.21Bell County: 46.2 inchesBell County46.2Trigg County: 46.17 inchesTrigg County46.17Trimble County: 46.16 inchesTrimble County46.16Harlan County: 45.92 inchesHarlan County45.92McLean County: 45.72 inchesMcLean County45.72Leslie County: 45.65 inchesLeslie County45.65Hart County: 45.61 inchesHart County45.61Clay County: 45.49 inchesClay County45.49Hopkins County: 45.45 inchesHopkins County45.45Daviess County: 45.41 inchesDaviess County45.41Livingston County: 45.27 inchesLivingston County45.27Allen County: 45.13 inchesAllen County45.13Barren County: 45.01 inchesBarren County45.01Owsley County: 45.01 inchesOwsley County45.01Knox County: 44.89 inchesKnox County44.89McCreary County: 44.8 inchesMcCreary County44.8Todd County: 44.78 inchesTodd County44.78Whitley County: 44.64 inchesWhitley County44.64Mason County: 44.58 inchesMason County44.58Hickman County: 56.24 inchesHickman County56.24Carlisle County: 55.82 inchesCarlisle County55.82Fulton County: 54.96 inchesFulton County54.96Graves County: 54.91 inchesGraves County54.91Ballard County: 54.39 inchesBallard County54.39McCracken County: 53.58 inchesMcCracken County53.58Calloway County: 51.14 inchesCalloway County51.14Grayson County: 50.89 inchesGrayson County50.89Marshall County: 50.73 inchesMarshall County50.73Breckinridge County: 50.49 inchesBreckinridge County50.49Edmonson County: 49.36 inchesEdmonson County49.36Hancock County: 48.97 inchesHancock County48.97Ohio County: 48.54 inchesOhio County48.54Logan County: 48.26 inchesLogan County48.26Butler County: 47.91 inchesButler County47.91Simpson County: 47.49 inchesSimpson County47.49Muhlenberg County: 47.45 inchesMuhlenberg County47.45Hardin County: 47.02 inchesHardin County47.02Meade County: 46.74 inchesMeade County46.74Warren County: 46.52 inchesWarren County46.52Lyon County: 46.21 inchesLyon County46.21Bell County: 46.2 inchesBell County46.2Trigg County: 46.17 inchesTrigg County46.17Trimble County: 46.16 inchesTrimble County46.16Harlan County: 45.92 inchesHarlan County45.92McLean County: 45.72 inchesMcLean County45.72Leslie County: 45.65 inchesLeslie County45.65Hart County: 45.61 inchesHart County45.61Clay County: 45.49 inchesClay County45.49Hopkins County: 45.45 inchesHopkins County45.45Daviess County: 45.41 inchesDaviess County45.41Livingston County: 45.27 inchesLivingston County45.27Allen County: 45.13 inchesAllen County45.13Barren County: 45.01 inchesBarren County45.01Owsley County: 45.01 inchesOwsley County45.01Knox County: 44.89 inchesKnox County44.89McCreary County: 44.8 inchesMcCreary County44.8Todd County: 44.78 inchesTodd County44.78Whitley County: 44.64 inchesWhitley County44.64Mason County: 44.58 inchesMason County44.58
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
inches
Change on 2022
1Hickman County56.24+13.4%
2Carlisle County55.82+19.5%
3Fulton County54.96+6.8%
4Graves County54.91+15.6%
5Ballard County54.39+20.7%
6McCracken County53.58+17.3%
7Calloway County51.14+12.1%
8Grayson County50.89+1.1%
9Marshall County50.73+11.1%
10Breckinridge County50.49+2%
11Edmonson County49.36-3.4%
12Hancock County48.97+0.8%
13Ohio County48.54+0.8%
14Logan County48.26-3.9%
15Butler County47.91-1.5%
16Simpson County47.49-11.2%
17Muhlenberg County47.45-0.2%
18Hardin County47.02-3.6%
19Meade County46.74-1.8%
20Warren County46.52-6.7%
21Lyon County46.21+1.2%
22Bell County46.2-13.2%
23Trigg County46.17+0.7%
24Trimble County46.16-7.6%
25Harlan County45.92-17.1%
26McLean County45.72+0.5%
27Leslie County45.65-21.6%
28Hart County45.61-10.9%
29Clay County45.49-21.5%
30Hopkins County45.45-5%
31Daviess County45.41+1.8%
32Livingston County45.27+1%
33Allen County45.13-14%
34Barren County45.01-13%
34Owsley County45.01-23.4%
36Knox County44.89-17.4%
37McCreary County44.8-17.3%
38Todd County44.78-2.8%
39Whitley County44.64-18.6%
40Mason County44.58-7.2%
41Oldham County44.55-5.7%
42Caldwell County44.47-4.3%
43Lee County44.39-21.4%
44Robertson County44.21-5%
45Powell County44.19-16.8%
46Jackson County44.18-20.1%
47Perry County44.14-22.3%
48Bracken County43.99-9.2%
49Clinton County43.96-19.5%
50Estill County43.87-17.6%
51Henry County43.8-8.9%
52Scott County43.71-4.9%
53Shelby County43.55-8.6%
54Breathitt County43.5-23.4%
55Carroll County43.37-9.1%
56Franklin County43.35-8.8%
57Wayne County43.33-17.8%
58Monroe County43.27-17.9%
59Anderson County43.22-9.2%
60Harrison County43.16-3.9%
61Woodford County43.13-8.4%
62Laurel County43.12-18.5%
63Nicholas County43.1-6.1%
63Washington County43.1-10.5%
65Bullitt County43.08-7.1%
66Spencer County43.01-8.6%
67Clark County43-11%
67Fayette County43-7.2%
69Bourbon County42.97-5.3%
70Nelson County42.89-9.5%
71Webster County42.8-8.1%
72Jefferson County42.74-5.2%
73Rockcastle County42.73-18%
74Casey County42.72-16.3%
75Christian County42.69-6.9%
75Mercer County42.69-9.9%
77Pulaski County42.65-17.6%
78Boyle County42.62-12.3%
78Crittenden County42.62-4.4%
80Lincoln County42.56-15.3%
81Montgomery County42.54-12.9%
82Wolfe County42.53-21%
83Martin County42.38-16.5%
84Madison County42.27-14.3%
85Larue County42.22-13.9%
86Owen County42.16-10.6%
87Jessamine County42.15-9.6%
88Knott County42.08-21.9%
89Russell County41.98-18.6%
90Cumberland County41.97-19.3%
91Menifee County41.81-18.3%
92Metcalfe County41.74-18.1%
93Fleming County41.67-12.5%
94Garrard County41.59-13.7%
95Marion County41.49-14.8%
96Pendleton County41.37-13%
97Lewis County41.06-12.6%
98Bath County40.8-15.4%
99Adair County40.61-19.1%
100Grant County40.48-13.9%
100Pike County40.48-22.2%
102Taylor County40.1-18.6%
103Henderson County40.06-1.9%
104Magoffin County40-24.2%
105Gallatin County39.96-12.8%
106Letcher County39.75-22.6%
107Boone County39.73-13.6%
108Green County39.66-20.2%
109Floyd County39.34-23.2%
110Union County39.16-7.2%
111Kenton County39.06-15.8%
112Morgan County38.96-22.7%
113Campbell County38.79-15.5%
114Johnson County38.45-24.8%
114Rowan County38.45-19.7%
116Lawrence County37.78-20.3%
117Elliott County36.8-22%
118Greenup County36.52-13.9%
119Carter County36.23-17.6%
120Boyd County34.5-20.2%

Other periods

About this ranking

Total precipitation from January to December, in inches: rain plus the water content of snow and other frozen precipitation. NOAA computes it from its climate divisional dataset (nClimDiv): station readings interpolated onto a 5 km grid and averaged over the area.

Values are area averages, not the reading at one weather station. NOAA revises the last two years every month.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. (2026). NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties (Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping

MLA 9

NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation, 2023. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 6 Oct. 2026, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/kentucky-counties?period=2023. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 2026. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/kentucky-counties?period=2023.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/kentucky-counties?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_kentucky_by_2023,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation, 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/kentucky-counties?period=2023. Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
TI  - NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation, 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
PB  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/kentucky-counties?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/kentucky-counties?period=2023.
N1  - Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest annual precipitation?

Hickman County, with 56.24 inches in 2023, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Boyd County, with 34.5 inches in 2023.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Annual precipitation: other rankings

Counties in Kentucky: more rankings